Broken
by D. Russel Smith
Summary: Sequel to Breaking. In the wake of Jayne's death, the crew must continue on with their lives, and their jobs, while trying to mend the broken fragments of their existence.
1. Falling Apart

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Mark.

"Pleasure doin' business with ya, as always," said the short balding man known only as Badger.

"Wish I could say the same," Malcolm Reynolds replied in a dark tone, then turned to leave, counting his coins, but stopped at the door. Turning back, he asked "What're you doin' on Paradiso, Badger? Your normal stompin' ground is Persephone."

"Ran into a little trouble core-side," the cockney replied, "thought it best to lay low for a while."

"And if Book was right," Mal replied as he left, "if there really is a God in Heaven, you'll stay there."

Mal passed through the hallways of the small establishment leading back to the main bar, and sat at the table with Simon and Zoë. The doctor had taken to wearing jeans and t-shirts ever since Jayne's death two months ago. At first it was the shirts, then one day Kaylee talked him into wearing jeans to relax and he had been wearing them ever since. He still couldn't abide wearing dirty clothing, however, and maintained his tidy appearance.

Zoë drained her glass and looked at her watch. After a moment she spoke "Kaylee was supposed to be here over an hour ago."

"Do you think something happened to her?" Simon said, not bothering to hide his fear.

"We have to consider that she's been found, sir," the first mate said, "we may want to cut our losses and—"

"We are not leaving her!" Mal half-shouted, slamming his fist down and glaring fiercely at his first mate.

Zoë knew better than to say anything now, she simply nodded, and looked down at her drink. A few minutes passed in silence, which was broken by the cheery voice of the ship's mechanic calling "Hey, guys, cap'n."

Simon immediately stood and hugged the lovely Kaylee, and Mal asked "Where in the jiu céng de dì yù you been?"

"Sorry, cap'n," Kaylee said, her arms still around Simon, "but took some time t'hash out where the bèn dàn hid himself."

"So did you come up with anything?" Zoë asked.

"Sure'n I did," Kaylee replied happily, "Got us a real good payin' one, too."

"Well don't hold us in suspense, darlin'," Mal urged, "what is it and how good payin'?"

"I ain't sure what exactly," Kaylee admitted, "but it's right here on Paradiso."

"So what about this 'good payin'' part?" Mal asked.

Kaylee grinned and cupped her hands in front of her mouth, tittering with excitement, and after a moment of suspense, said "One hundred thousand."

Zoë remained silent, jaw hanging. Simon started "One hundred thousand, that's . . ." but trailed off, unable to process it.

"Cí cái shén, shén wo de nèi xin , that's a lot, is what it is!" Mal finished for him.

"Who is giving us this job?" Simon asked finally.

"Remember those folks t'the north with Bowdan's Malady?" 

"As I remember," Zoë replied, "they were indirectly involved with the captain losing an ear."

Mal nervously scratched his ear said "We ain't bein' hired by Niska again, are we?"

"Oh, no, Cap'n," Kaylee assured him, "It's the folks themselves. The sheriff there wants us to meet with 'im in a couple hours."

Mal nodded, and said "Right, then, looks like we're off. Doc, you go back to Serenity with Kaylee, Zoë and I'll head up, see what th' good lawman wants."

The situation was settled, and the four split to head their own ways. Simon and Kaylee watched the captain and first mate get into a horse-drawn carriage and pull away, then started their own journey back to Serenity. Despite his initial reaction to seeing her safe, the doctor said very little on the trip back, remaining uncharacteristically introverted. Kaylee had gotten used to this. Ever since the raid where Jayne was lost to them, he'd grown more and more distant. She began to see that they had been the best kind of friends, but never would have admitted it. He was wearing the same kinds of clothes the mercenary had worn now, even took to swearing every once in a while. Jayne's death must have done something terrible to him.

The mechanic tried every way to help ease him of his burden, but for some reason, everything she tried just seemed to make him sink farther into himself. She didn't understand it, the time should be helping him recover, not making him worse. Even Zoë had gotten over Wash for the most part. Sure, she had her days; Kaylee would walk by her bunk and hear her crying. But they became less and less frequent; she had even regained her humor. She still had difficulty talking about it, but she could do it now. But for some reason, Simon just wasn't coping. The more she thought about it, the more Kaylee was sure that she was causing this, especially with the way River had reacted.

----------

Back on Serenity, River sat in Jayne's old room, staring at a picture of him with his mother. She had stopped crying about an hour ago, but she knew that she would start again soon. She did this whenever she was alone on the ship, or when everyone else was asleep. She would cry herself to sleep and wake up and cry some more. No one saw her, though. She moved into his room soon after he had been buried, and spent most of her time there. Simon tried periodically to comfort her, to help her deal with the loss, but she just dismissed him, not wanting his help. Jayne wouldn't want her to be dependant on her big brother anymore. So it was when the tears started flowing again. She was so hurt by her loss, so regretful that she'd never told him how she really felt, so angry with her own weakness, she started punching the wall, causing the sheet metal to dent and her knuckles to split open. She collapsed again, sobbing on the floor, wishing she would have died instead. Jayne was so much stronger than her.

"Oh my god," carried to her ears from the entrance in the form of Inara's voice. 

River looked up, but couldn't stop the tears, she knew she couldn't lie her way out of this. Inara rushed to River's side and held her, offering soothing sounds and phrases. When the ship's pilot finally quieted, Inara asked "Is this how you've been spending your time alone?"

River said nothing, but the look in her eyes was all the confirmation Inara needed, holding her close, saying "Oh, mì you. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

The girl cradled in the companion's arms was silent for a moment, then said quietly "Because Jayne wanted me to be strong."

"Ài cheng," Inara soothed, "Even Jayne grieved. You have to share this with us. We all want to help you. I know how you really felt about him, even if the others didn't."

"Jayne wouldn't want me to—" River began, but broke down into more tears, hugging Inara tightly.

A few minutes passed, and the girl regained her composure, and Inara said "Listen to me, honey, there is no shame or weakness in crying."

"I can testify t'that," Kaylee said from the open entrance, "I seen him cry more'n once, on account o' less important things."

River stared at her friend, who appeared to be holding back her own tears as she descended the small steps and walked over. Kneeling, Kaylee placed her hand on River's shoulder, her held back tears now escaping in streams down her face. River saw, though, that Kaylee's tears weren't just over this. She was nearly crying before she stumbled upon this situation, it just augmented things. River asked sympathetically "What's wrong?"

Inara heard this and looked more closely, and saw that something else was indeed causing Kaylee's distress. The mechanic remained perfectly still for a moment, biting her lower lip, then she began to sob as well. This cause River to respond in kind, and the two simply held each other in tears. Inara comforted them both, making an interesting triad for Simon to stumble across. He saw what was happening, but said nothing, and retreated to his infirmary.

---------

The carriage pulled into a large house in the mining colony towards the center of town. Mal thanked the driver and stepped out, followed by Zoë's stoic form. Looking around, the gaze of Serenity's captain fell on a well-maintained building citing the word "Sheriff." Looking back at his first mate, he said cheerfully "Looks like we're here"  
and walked into the structure.

Zoë followed, and was unimpressed by the meager accommodations. The main room was demure, lacking any real decoration save for a desk by the far wall. Sitting behind the desk was a man they both recognized as the same sheriff who had allowed them to escape after the initial train job. Standing, the surly man gave a slight nod and said "Malcolm Reynolds, is it?"

"That's my proper name, yes," Mal replied.

"I can't remember what you told me your name was last time," the sheriff continued, "But it's nice to see you again."

Mal nodded and said "So I understand you have some business you wish to discuss?"

"That's right," the sheriff responded, "It's about Bowden's Malady. More specifically the fact that an alliance medical research facility on Osiris, called the Omicron Center, has developed a cure that they're refusing to share."

"Wait," Mal interrupted, "hold on, now, I think I see where this is goin'. You want us to mosey on into an alliance den on a core planet to steal what is likely highly protected stuff, right?"

"The job pays one hundred thousand platinum, half up-front," the sheriff tempted, "We need that cure, Captain Reynolds."

"This 'Omicron Center,'" Zoë said, "doesn't happen to be headed by General Ryan Gates, does it?"

Mal looked at her quizzically, and the sheriff nodded. Zoë huffed and said "We can't do this job, sir," addressing Mal. 

Serenity's captain looked back and forth and said "Why not? Who's General Ryan Gates?"

"My brother in law used to work at that facility," Zoë said, "it's protected by a dedicated response force that's always stationed right there on the grounds."

Mal's head jerked in the direction of the sheriff and said "There's a dedicated response force on the grounds?" then turned back to Zoë asking "What's a dedicated response force?"

"It's a seventeen man squad of highly trained alliance killers," the sheriff responded, "and they've already been taken care of."

"I'm supposed to believe that you have somehow magically nullified the threat of a gorram dedicated response force?" Mal demanded.

"I haven't," the sheriff replied calmly, "He has," and indicated towards the side door, where a man stood just outside, visible through the window.

Mal looked the man over with suspicion, not convinced that their troubles were so easily dissuaded. He was a man of average height and a broad build with semi-long brown hair tied back, wore a long black coat over blue jeans and a red shirt, and carried a large black duffel bag. His face was handsome, though not overly so, strong cheekbones and jaw with deep eyes was tempered by a hooked nose. When he noticed that everyone was looking at him, he entered and set his bag on the floor, nodded to the sheriff and stood silently.

"Captain Reynolds," the sheriff addressed, "I'd like you to meet Mark Maliss."

The newcomer extended a hand which Mal shook out of courtesy, then asked "How'd you gum up the attack monkeys?"

"I have my ways," Mark replied simply, "But I'll ensure that they stay that way during the mission."

Mal stared blankly for a moment, then said "Wait, you want him to go with us?"

"He's the only man who can neutralize the response force," the sheriff said, "And don't worry, he's already been paid, you still get your full wage."

Mal looked at Zoë, who shrugged, saying "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Just a minute ago," Mal said, "you said we couldn't do this job, now it seems like you're all for it."

The first mate shrugged again and said nothing. Mal puffed out an exasperated breath and said "Fine, come with us, but so long as you're on my ship, you follow my orders, dòng bu dòng?"

Mark nodded and Mal approached the sheriff, saying "Alright, we'll do it. But I swear to tian tang bìng dì yù you'd better be bein' straight with us," and with that, he left, followed by Zoë and their new accomplice: Mark Maliss. 


	2. Fragmented

Simon sat in the infirmary next to the operating table, staring vacantly into the research he'd done about River's condition. He knew each page by heart, memorized like a favorite song, he only looked at them now because he had done it so much that it had become something of a comfort to him. The doctor knew that his sister needed him, but her dismissive demeanor kept him at bay, and Kaylee seemed to be breaking down as well, but whenever he asked her about it, she denied that anything was wrong with a smile. A knock on the infirmary doorway snapped him back to reality and he looked up to see Inara standing hesitantly at the entrance.

"Hello, _ài qíng gù shì_," Simon greeted.

Inara started at this and for a moment was speechless. When she regained her composure, she replied, "You haven't called me that for a long time."

"I didn't think you remembered me," Simon explained, "What can I do for you?"

Ignoring his question, Inara asked "How could I have forgotten you?"

"It has been quite some time since . . . " the doctor trailed off with his answer, not willing to discuss it, and repeated "What can I do for you?"

Letting it drop, Inara said "Kaylee needs you, _níng jìng_."

The doctor sighed and, looking down, said "She won't talk to me. Every time I ask her what's wrong, she says nothing."

"Don't you understand?" Inara said, "_You're_ what's wrong with her."

Simon stared blankly at the companion for a moment, then said ". . . What?"

"The way you've reacted to Jayne's . . ." she never finished the statement, concluding instead with "You've become like a hermit in this lab. You talk to nobody, you keep receding farther and farther inside yourself, you lock yourself in here at all hours and Kaylee thinks it's her fault."

The doctor's head reeled, finally understanding why Kaylee wouldn't tell him what her problem was; it was his problem. He'd been so focused on helping River again that he had once again let his personal life suffer. River would probably knock him senseless if she knew. Simon stood and walked slowly to the counter, a look of grim realization on his face as he reached into one of his drawers and pulled out a well-hidden bottle of brandy and, not bothering with a glass, took a long drought. Inara was surprised that the doctor had developed such an alcohol tolerance, not even grimacing after such a large drink.

Wiping his mouth, the doctor looked down at the bottle for a moment, then replaced the cap, picked it up and, with a nod of acknowledgement to Inara, walked out the door. Inara watched through the window as Simon stopped and turned back. Returning to the counter, he reached into a refrigeration unit and pulled out a small wooden box that had once belonged to Shepherd Book, nodded to Inara again, and left. The companion smiled to herself, thinking '_Now if only I can get Mal to realize the same thing . . ._'

--------------- 

Kaylee sat in her bunk wiping away her latest stream of tears, staring at a picture of Simon and Jayne arguing in the middle of a firefight. She remembered the incident well. They had been running from the law on some backwater planet when she, Simon, Jayne and Zoë had been pinned down. At the worst possible moment, Jayne had made a crack about Kaylee's sexuality, and Simon stood up, completely ignoring the need for cover, and told Jayne off. Jayne tackled him to get him out of the line of fire and Simon, mistaking the action for an attack, actually punched Jayne square in the nose. Somehow a net crew had gotten a picture of the moment Simon stood up to yell at the mercenary, which Kaylee convinced Mal to appropriate for her own collection.

At a knock on her door, the mechanic slowly rose and walked to the entrance and pulled the ladder down. Without looking, she walked back to her mattress and said "If it ain't terrible import'nt, I wanna be alone f'r a while."

Simon balanced the wooden box in the crook of his left elbow while that hand held the bottle of brandy while he climbed down the rungs. When he reached the floor and saw that she still wasn't looking, he took the box in his right hand and said "This is important."

Kaylee turned, surprised that Simon had come, and saw the box and bottle, the doctor smiling tenderly. Unable to find the words, Kaylee stammered an incomprehensible response and Simon said "Look, I realize that I've been a real _běn rén_, so I thought I'd do something to try to make up for it."

Kaylee was torn. She was angry at him for taking so long to figure it out, but at the same time she was overjoyed that he had come to his senses. She let her anger win out, and she said "Oh, so now that it's nice f'r you, you think I should just be all happy and great?"

Simon was ready for this, and in response, opened the wooden box to reveal fresh, ripe strawberries, saying "Well, I was hoping I could maybe bribe you into forgiving me."

Kaylee swooned. Simon set the bottle down and took one of the strawberries and gently brought it to Kaylee's lips. The mechanic hesitated a moment longer, then gave in, biting delicately into the fruit, groaning in enjoyment. Smiling as she chewed, savoring the flavor, Kaylee took Simon's hand and kissed it. When she swallowed the rest of the fruit, she said "Well it's about ruttin' time," and dragged him over to her bed.

-------------------------------------- 

Inara sat in her shuttle reviewing potential clients on Osiris. Zoë had sent her a short transmission briefly detailing the mission to the core planet, and Inara as usual decided to get a head start on things. The fourth on her list was brought up and smiled gently, not a particularly attractive individual, and younger than she was accustomed to. At her acknowledging smile, he greeted her with "Howdy. My name's Peter, and I would like you to escort me to a small gathering of people here in Madison."

Something about the purity in his eyes made the companion continue the interview, and she asked "And what kind of a gathering would this be?"

"It's a banquet supporting an art gala for a close friend of mine. You may have heard of him, Axel Prometheus?"

Inara nodded, having indeed heard of the up-and-coming artist and philosopher. He was swiftly gaining in popularity among the outer rim, but the core was denouncing him as a radical iconoclast, speaking out against the government as he was. His most famous work of art depicted angels and demons siding respectively with the outer rim in a second war with the alliance. Regardless of whether or not they supported his views, few claimed they were inaccurate. Tension had been building since the release of the Miranda incident into the media, and nearly everyone believed that conflict would eventually erupt. "From what I understand," the companion said, "he isn't the most well-supported modern philosopher."

"Maybe not," Peter replied, "but this is something of a special occasion. You see, several key members of parliament are scheduled to attend the seminar he is planning to give after the banquet. Something about wanting a firsthand look at his views."

"I see," was Inara's reply, "And you want someone to add some respectability to your side."

"It is so nice to see intelligence in people," peter mused happily, "such a rarity in these times."

Inara smiled and said "I'd be delighted to attend. I read in the overview that there was a dress code?"

"Yes, about that," Peter said meekly, "I'm sure I could convince Ax to ignore that on your behalf if you didn't approve--"

"I take it that the code applies only to those in support of his views?" Inara asked.

"Yes, and it's not particularly strict. Black and silver are the colors of choice, and all of the major supporters will be wearing a stylized dragon motif in the form of a brassard on their arm, but that's not a requirement."

"Actually," the companion declared, "We'll be stopping by our post-carrier on the way, so if you could send one of the brassards to the address I'm sending, I could pick an outfit that would match it. Also, I understand he's written various works on his thoughts; if you could send some of the more significant works so I could familiarize myself with them."

The delight shone plainly on Peter's face as he jabbered out his thanks and assurance, and closed the line. Inara leaned back and smiled, thinking of how much Mal would love to find out about this. Of course she wouldn't tell him, it would boost his ego far too much. Before she had managed to sort her thoughts enough to decide on her next course of action, the intercom came on and the captain's voice rang out with "All personnel please report to the dining area for a briefing. I repeat, all personnel please report to the dining area for a briefing . . . yes, you too, Inara."

The companion puffed slightly, and headed towards the kitchen. When she arrived, she saw Zoë, Mal, River and a stranger in a long black coat and brown hair in a pony tail. Mal looked at his watch and said "Where the hell are Kaylee and the doctor?"

Zoë looked at Inara, who shrugged. River Spoke up saying "They're making up at the moment."

Mal looked at the ship's pilot and began to ask what she meant when it dawned on him. "Oh," he said, "Well, that's, um . . . Zoë would you be sure let them know about all this when we're done?"

"Pleasure, sir," the first mate acknowledged.

"Right," Mal started, "Well I'm sure you've noticed by now that there's a new face. This here's Mark Maliss, and he'll be our support for the next job."

"Malice," River said "a desire to harm others or to see others suffer; extreme ill will or spite."

Mark looked at the girl curiously, and Zoë quickly said "Don't worry, she does that to everybody."

Rolling his shoulders, the mercenary let the matter drop. Mal continued "We'll be settin' down on Osiris. The target is a research lab called the Omicron Center that's makin' a cure for Bowden's Malady, and they ain't sharin' with no one. Our goal is to steal it from 'em. One Hundred Thousand platinum is on the line for this one, so we can't afford any mistakes. Mr. Maliss?"

Mark stepped to the table and drew some papers from within his coat and laid them all out, arranging them meticulously. During the course of this, Simon and Kaylee entered. Flushing and trying to fix her hair, the mechanic offered "Sorry we're late, cap'n, but we had to, um, clean up some, uh . . ."

"That's not somethin' I wanna hear about," Mal interrupted.

Embarassed, the mechanic stayed silent while Simon stepped forward and said, "I'm sorry, I believe that we missed the formal introductions. My name is Simon Tam, I'm the ship's doctor."

Mark briskly shook the hand proffered and replied "Mark Maliss."

Returning to his papers, the mercenary completed his arrangement, and began. "This is a comprehensive schematic of the target facility."

Kaylee looked at Simon and asked "What's a com, compor . . ."

Without looking away from the map, the doctor answered "It's a map."

"Oh," the mechanic said, and continued listening.

"The Omicron Center is guarded at all three entry points by at least two posted sentries;" the mercenary began, "there are at least two two-man mobile fire teams patrolling the outer perimeter, three four-man mobile assault teams patrolling the interior, an alert four-man fire team on stand-by, and a seventeen-man dedicated response force all guarding the place. This is in addition to the head of internal security, entry control sentries, and the researchers and beaurocrats inside. How many combatants are on this crew?"

Captain Reynolds looked back and forth among the assembled crew and answered "Three, four if we're real desperate. The other two'll help if need-be, but they ain't experts on the subject."

The mercenary sighed, saying "This is going to be difficult. I anticipated at least six. What's our ETA to Osiris?"

"Three days, eleven hours, sixteen minutes and thirty-six seconds at our current speed, not allowing for course alterations," River answered.

Slightly shocked at the complexity of the answer, Mark replied "Good, that should be more than enough time. I'll have to completely re-write my plan of attack. This shouldn't take more than seven hours at most. I suggest everyone get rest until then. When I'm finished, we'll begin practice."

With that, the mercenary began gathering up his papers. Mal seemed a little flustered at the man's demeanor, but let the matter drop as River approached him saying "Captain, I need to talk to you."

Allowing himself to be pulled aside, the captain asked "What is it, darlin'?"

Hesitating only briefly, River said "It's Mark. He's dangerous. Very dangerous."

Mal glanced at the lean man as he finished arranging his papers, picked up his duffle bag and headed off in the direction of his bunk. Glancing back at River, Mal asked "What makes you say that. Seems to me that he's just an intellectual, good at plannin' and such, and probably has some nifty gizmos in that bag to keep the killin' squad off our backs. Not much of a fighter, though."

"That operative didn't seem like a fighter either," the girl responded.

Darkening slightly, Mal said "What makes you think he's in a league with that guy?"

"They know each other."

Mal's breath caught in his chest. Grabbing River's shoulder, he said "You're sure? No mistake about that?"

River shook her head, saying "They knew each other a long time ago. They didn't like each other, but they had to put up with each other."

"Why'd they have to put up with each other?"

"Because they worked together."


End file.
